Falling Flowers
by xakemii
Summary: Katie's late for Quidditch practice once again. Oliver's attempts to stop her from being injured are in vain. One-shot.


Katie hurriedly made her way to the Quidditch field. She was late for practise, again. Oliver Wood, the captain, glared down at her as she approached. She flashed him an apologetic smile, before hoping on her broom, zooming into the air to join her fellow chasers. Angelina caught her eye, wondering why she was late, as did Alicia. Harry simply shrugged, having been late many times himself. Katie sighed, knowing that Oliver was bound to want to talk to her later. She had been late for the last three scheduled practises, and the team, especially Oliver, had not been very, if at all, happy with her. Being late hadn't been her fault and she hadn't planned it, but no matter how hard she tried, there was no way Professor Snape would have let her off detention early.

She was pulled from her thoughts when Angelina flung the quaffle to her. Katie caught it last minute, being pushed back slightly from the impact. Angelina mouthed an apology to her.

"Look awake!" Oliver yelled, turning to stare at Katie. "We're playing -"

"Slytherin," Katie interrupted, passing the quaffle to Alicia. "On Saturday, I know."

Alicia gaped at her, letting the quaffle slip through her fingers. They were all friends, there was no denying that, but no one usually interrupted Oliver. Not when he was talking about Quidditch, at any rate. The miniature game had stopped. Fred had quickly gone to pick up the quaffle as it plummeted through the air, but returned quickly to see how Oliver would react. Harry had hovered lower than usual, clearly interested. Each of her team members was nearby, waiting for Oliver to explode.

"Katie..." Oliver narrowed his eyes at her. "See me after practise." He turned to the rest of the team. "Back into places, Fred, pass that to Angelina, would you?"

Angelina flew near Katie, catching the quaffle neatly, before smiling at her.

"Oliver, don't you think we should try something else?" she called out tentatively. "I think Katie, Alicia and I need to go through some techniques." Angelina grinned, as Oliver slowly nodded his head, calling Harry and the twins to him. Katie sighed, knowing that this was how Angelina planned to talk to her. Alicia came over quickly, giving Katie an odd look.

"Detention with Snape," Katie explained quickly, hoping they wouldn't question her.

Angelina didn't look convinced, but started explaining the latest strategy she had come up with. She explained it quickly and clearly, and before long the three were practising it, throwing the quaffle between three of them.

Below, three boys, Oliver and the twins, had flown to the ground. Harry had gone off in search for the snitch, which George had let out as a joke, claiming it was by 'accident.' Oliver looked up, approving of Angelina's new plan. The three girls worked well together, and seemed to know where the other would be, without even a glance. He nodded, watching the quaffle fly through the golden hoop. If they played like this on Saturday, they were sure to win.

"Is she insane?" Fred gaped up at Katie, who had gone to capture to quaffle, but had misjudged, diving under. The three boys watched, as she was oblivious to the quaffle, coming down at a miraculous speed.

"KATIE!" Alicia yelled, only just realizing what was happening. Angelina whipped around, her hand flying to her mouth. Katie looked over to Alicia, who was waving frantically. As if in slow motion, the quaffle came down, smacking Katie in the neck.

"Oh my—" Katie was cut off as she was sent flying below, this time without her broom. Without a moments thought, Oliver jumped onto his broom, flying towards Katie at top speed. Despite his attempts to catch her, he ending up colliding into her, pulling her through the air even faster.

"Sorry," he breathed, as they both hit the ground, thankfully being cushioned by the flowerbed nearby.

"It's alright," mumbled Katie. "You're right, I should concentrate."

Oliver shrugged, picking himself up from the flattened flowerbed. He brushed himself down, before offering his hand to Katie, who was still lying in the dirt. She moaned, shaking her head, while pointing to her ankle. She bit her lip, trying to stop herself from screaming out in pain. She had heard the bone break when she landed, but was thankful, though surprised, when Oliver hadn't. He nodded, understanding. Oliver called out to the rest of the team, before scooping her up and carrying her to the hospital wing.

"Broken ankle," he explained to Madame Pomfrey.

"She'll be fixed in moment." Madame Pomfrey smiled at him, directing him to a bed. She eyed Oliver, as he stayed for a while. "You can come back in an hour or two later tonight, she'll be fine then."

Oliver nodded, backing out of the room. George, Fred, Angelina, Alicia and Harry greeted him quickly bombarding him with questions. He reported back, assuring them she'd be fine by the game, before heading over the Gryffindor common room, to get some rest.

Katie woke up, as Madame Pomfrey predicted, two hours later. The grinning faces of the twins, who promptly called Oliver and the girls to the bed, greeted her.

"Harry had to do something," Alicia said apologetically, handing her a bunch of orange flowers.

"What are these?" Katie smiled up at her friends, taking the flowers gratefully. Though unnecessary, it had been a nice gesture.

"Crown imperials," Angelina answered, just as George muttered, "The same flowers you and Oliver squished."

"He picked them," Fred pointed at Oliver, who was blushing slightly. "We figured that the captain should pick."

"Sorry for breaking you, by the way."

"Hey." Katie grinned shyly. "You did the noble thing, attempting to save me like that. I appreciate it."

She lifted herself from her bed, still hobbling slightly on her ankle. She clutched the flowers to her chest, inhaling their scent.

"And I love the flowers," she added, kissing Oliver softly on the cheek, before leaving her friends gaping after her as she left the room.


End file.
